HaMIS activities

FIP’s Health and Medicines Information Section (HaMIS) Stipend

Each year, FIP’s Health and Medicines Information Section (HaMIS) offers a stipend to financially support pharmacy students, pharmacists or pharmaceutical scientists from low- or middle- income countries to attend the World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The maximum support for one recipient is 1000 Euros towards travel and accommodation costs in addition to the Congress registration fee being funded.

To be eligible for the stipend, the applicant must be:

A pharmacy student, pharmacist or pharmaceutical scientist who lives, works or studies in a low- or middle-income country, as classified by the World Bank; and

Working or involved in research in the area of medicine, disease or health information.

Preference is given to first-time FIP congress attendees. Applicants who have previously received financial support from FIP may apply, but funding will only be awarded in exceptional circumstances.

Click on the link for more information and the application form for the 2019 stipend. The deadline for submitting stipend applications for the 2019 FIP World Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is the 1April 2019.

HaMIS is continuously active in proposing, organising and co-organising sessions for the annual World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In recent years, HaMIS has been involved in sessions related to:

Information technology, social media, and mHealth

(e.g. “eHealth, mHealth, smart health: Our health?” [2016], “The pharmacist is online: Social media for beginners” [2016], “Transparency and social media – the pharmacist as the spider in the web [2015], “Information technology resources: The potential to support better patient care” [2014], “Using Social Media to support communication between pharmacists and patients” [2014])

Newsletters

HaMIS produces a quarterly newsletter for its members, known as Info-Link. It contains material about health and medicines information; short communications about members’ successes such as publications, presentations, grants, promotions; and notices of upcoming meetings/events organised by professional association(s) relevant to health and medicines information.

FIP report on the strategic development of medicines information

This report sets a vision for the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and pharmacy organisations around the world, as well as individual pharmacists, for a multidisciplinary collaborative and active approach towards high quality medicines information (processes and outcomes, for example leaflets) through well-planned, structured medicines information strategies that are embedded in national medicines policies. It defines and promotes the role of the pharmacist, within a multidisciplinaryteam, in the strategic development and implementation of national medicines information policies and practices.

The report stemmed from the efforts of FIP’s Health and Medicines Information Section (HaMIS) Working Group on National Strategic Plans for the Development and Use of Medicines Information, led by HaMIS member Dr Katri Hämeen-Anttila.

The working group has been active since October 2012. The aim of this working group was to consider the key elements that should be included in a national strategic plan for medicines information and to identify practical steps that can be taken by pharmacists to strengthen medicines information development and provision in their home countries.Pharmacists should, ideally, be engaged — at all levels of practice — in promoting the role of the pharmacist in the strategic development and implementation of national medicines information policies and practices.

The working group has also been active in updating the FIP Policy Statement on medicines information based on the above mentioned report. The Policy Statement was presented for adoption at the Council meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea.